Supplements

[Guybrush]

Eeeeeeeyy!!

A quick question to my fellow beefcakes; how are you on supplements? Do you do them? Should or shouldn't you? Would you recommend one?

I've never done a supplement, but I am getting bombarded with ads now that I'm looking at exercise vids on YouTube. It seems every fitness youtuber and their grandmother is pushing powder at some point during their videos.

[grindy]

I take protein powder which is just a convenient way to ensure sufficient intake (aim for 1,5g per kg of body weight, more is most likely unnecessary) and creatine, which might increase the amount of reps one can do on higher rep exercises due to improved energy availability. It also increases storage of intramuscular water which most likely has some benefits for growth and might make you look a bit more swole. Those are basically the only things that have any kind of proven and tangible benefit. Most pre-workouts just have a shit ton of caffeine and that's it. Apart from that eating healthy and in sufficient amounts is all it takes.

[DJChameleon]

The only thing I used to do but I stopped was having a meal replacement shake in the mornings along with a scoop of peanut butter and a half cup of oatmeal a few ice cubes and blend. I never really got into protein shakes much outside of that.

I'm also super against pre-workout powders, some of my buddies at the gym dry swallow pre workout and that's so fucking bad for you. It was a trend for a little while on TikTok but it's super dangerous.

I also used to take a daily multi-vitamin but I feel like those are a complete waste of money? Why you say? It's because the amount of each vitamin that is contained within is so small that it doesn't even matter much. I get all the nutrients I need from food. If I wanted to take a supplement for a specific thing I would just get a more concentrated dose of said pill. Oh the only thing I actually do take and that's on the advice of my general doctor. She wants me to take 2,000mg pills of Vitamin D twice a day.

Apparently my Vitamin D levels are kind of low even with taking the pills daily so I don't know if they need to do further tests on me or what the deal is.

[jimmy jazz]

Whey protein
Creatine
Electrolytes after I've trained

That's it fitness wise.

I take cod liver oil and a multivitamin every day just for general health. I'd do even without training.

I agree with what's being said about pre-workouts. I tried one based off the hype the online nation was giving pre-workouts in general. Any boost was negligible for me and I hated the taste. A strong coffee is better if you're into that but I just have a cup of tea.

[Guybrush]

Based on what I know, there's poor evidence to suggest anyone eating a varied diet should take multi-vitamin. Some studies indicate they can have a negative impact on health, so at least check that out. It's probably much better to target specific vitamins if you know you're deficit. I'm mentioning it specifically because I noticed @jimmy jazz takes cod liver oil which is rich in vitamin A, so that's two daily supplement sources for that vitamin which sounds like too much to me.

Whey protein seems to be the rage and creatine, though I've no idea what the latter is. If I get anything, I guess whey?

[jimmy jazz]

Two RDAs is still below the tolerable amount of vitamin A so it won't be too much in the sense that its doing harm but I won't get a multivitamin again. I think it was cos I couldn't find vitamin D ages ago.

Creatine is cheap and proven, you could get some and see what you think. As grindy says, more energy in muscles = more reps. Look a bit more beefy. Extra few cms to your willy.

Find out how much you weigh in pounds and that's how much in grams you should get from protein per day to make gainz. If you aren't getting that from food then yes whey would be helpful.

[Guybrush]

There's no chance I'm getting that much protein and my family sometimes just want to eat pea soup, so even with a daily shake, I don't think I'll reach that target. At least not often.

But realizing this and having had to go to the apothecary and there being a beefcake protein peddler right by, I swooped in there and got a kg of whey. I asked if they had something without artificial flavour and they did. To my surprise, the taste is fairly pleasant even if it's not caramel peanut or strawberry jizz.

Kinda expensive, though, so I'll keep a look out for cheaper options online.

[DJChameleon]

I thought about getting Huel but changed my mind.

There is also another one influencers push called AG1 Greens.


How does Huel taste? Is it grassy tasting?

[DJChameleon]

It's on its way here but says it is coming today by noon. Which is hella fast because I bought it last night. I won't be here but hopefully, they drop it off by my door. That would be less than 24 hours and it's here. I used to drink something like it in the past and it was gross but I just ignored the taste but yeah grassy tasting.

I've seen the AG1 greens ads too but Huel has been pushing their scoop meals in the cup for months and then when I saw they had a greens mixture I was interested because it's way cheaper than AG1 greens. Ag1 is $80 and Huel is only $45. Huel is giving me a t-shirt and a bottle with it. Pumped to try it out, going to drink two shakes a day for the first two weeks and then one a day going further. Probably doing some fasting with just greens mixture and protein powder. I'll post a photo if it gets here today or when I get it from the mail.

Yeah AG1 is pricey. That's why they give influencers codes to discount it.

Yeah keep  me updated with pics and taste review whenever you get the chance. No rush.

[Lexi Darling]

I haven't taken any vitamin supplements since I was a young teenager.

I certainly don't have to worry about getting enough protein; the mister is a major carnivore and a good deal of our meals are quite protein-heavy.

I do try to eat as balanced of a diet as I can, but honestly I think we don't always branch out with food as much as we maybe should. I stick to the meal plan that is ultimately decided by my partner, but one vice of mine is prioritizing his desires over making my own suggestions for what might be a more well rounded diet. No shade to my darling fiance, but he doesn't always restrain himself when it comes to indulging in more rich and hearty meals rather than pacing himself more and spacing out those big meals.

It's something to talk about at some point.

[Guybrush]

I've ordered some creatine which should get here in a day or two, so that'll be interesting 🙂

The thing that won me over was a statement that cited some research, hopefully good, that it could improve cognitive function / memory and just general fatigue.

Sounds even better than the extra gains to me tbh.

[jimmy jazz]

I've ordered some creatine which should get here in a day or two, so that'll be interesting 🙂

The thing that won me over was a statement that cited some research, hopefully good, that it could improve cognitive function / memory and just general fatigue.

Sounds even better than the extra gains to me tbh.

When I used that originally I felt tired on it and needed to drink more water.

The stuff I use now is fine. Obviously I still drink water.

I use Optimum Nutrition creatine monohydrate. Black pot with green logos.

Report back on your findings!

[Guybrush]

Report back on your findings!

Aaaight, will do my brother from another mother 👍

[Guybrush]

Saw this on creatine.

I did read a research paper on it too a little while back, might even have been this one. That too concluded that the effect was small.

I've been mostly interested in whether or not it could improve cognitive function / having more energy in general and the effect there seems small or non-existent too from what I read last.

The Wikipedia summary on this topic isn't bad:

"Creatine is reported to have a beneficial effect on brain function and cognitive processing, although the evidence is difficult to interpret systematically and the appropriate dosing is unknown.[58][59] The greatest effect appears to be in individuals who are stressed (due, for instance, to sleep deprivation) or cognitively impaired.[58][59]

A 2018 systematic review found that "generally, there was evidence that short term memory and intelligence/reasoning may be improved by creatine administration", whereas for other cognitive domains "the results were conflicting".[60] Another 2023 review initially found evidence of improved memory function.[61] However, it was later determined that faulty statistics lead to the stastical significance and after fixing the "double counting", the effect was only significant in older adults.[62]"

[Shhon]

been taking b12 supplement